Page 29 of Falcon

Chapter 7

Faith

I’m about reeling by the time I get back to my bedroom after saying goodnight to Falcon. My heart is in my throat, and my entire body is tingling.

He’s bad for me. So, so bad for me. But I want more. I want to spend more time with him. He gives me this high I haven’t felt in so long.

I cover my hands with my face and smile so widely my cheeks hurt.

It’s a teenaged giddiness that rests in my belly, along with the flapping of butterfly wings.

The butterflies I never thought I’d be able to feel again. The butterflies I thought had been ripped away from me my sophomore year of college.

They aren’t dead after all.

I thought they had been snuffed out and had all their little wings plucked off by a man whose face is seared into my brain. No, not a man, a monster, who left permanent marks on my body, but wasn’t strong enough to leave deep wounds on my soul.

My phone vibrates loudly from my bag, pulling me away from my thoughts, and I sit up quickly, pulling it free to see Rose is calling me.

I slide my thumb across the screen to connect the call and before I can even say a word, she speaks, “Tell me everything, you hussy.”

I just laugh and laugh. “Oh my God, Rose. Oh. My. God.”

“That good huh?”

“He’s incredible. He’s so kind, and funny, and charming. Just wow. WOW.”

“What did he take you to do? That’s important.”

I lie back on my bed with my head nearly hanging off the side. “We went to dinner at the chicken place off Bay and then we went for ice cream. He took me on his motorcycle.”

“He rides a motorcycle? He just got ten times hotter.”

“You have no idea.” I cover my red cheeks. “It was so nice to just be able to relax and talk to someone, ya know? We spent a few hours together, then he drove me home and even walked me to my front door. He didn’t kiss me though.”

“Did you want him to?” Her tone shifts more seriously. She almost sounds surprised.

“I think I did,” I admit, surprising Rose and myself.

Dating has been both easy and hard for me over the last five years. Easy in, I like to go out and have a good time. Hard because I have to really trust someone before I let them get close to me intimately. Even just kissing. It’s not often I even want to kiss anyone after the first date because I just don’t feel that comfortable yet.

“Wow, that’s a step forward, don’t you think?” she asks.

“It’s hard to explain. OH!” I sit up quickly. “And he said that he would teach me a few things to protect myself.”

“He’s going to teach you how to fight?”

“He teaches self-defense classes for kids and teens in California. Volunteers, really. He said he wants to actually use his skills for good things too.”

“He sounds too good to be true. A hot as sin man with tattoos, a motorcycle, charming, and he is good with kids? There has to be a catch.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of, but I mean…he’s only here for a short time, right? So in the grand scheme, this doesn’t even matter.”

“Uh huh.”

“What’s that uh huh about?”

“Faith, babe, I haven’t heard you this happy in regard to a man or a date in a long time. I just want to make sure you’re careful, is all.”

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